Acts 3:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

NIV: So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

NASB: And he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

CSB: So he turned to them, expecting to get something from them.

NLT: The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money.

KJV: And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

NKJV: So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

A lame beggar has asked Peter and John for alms (Acts 3:2–3). Actually, he's probably asked everyone who has come through the gate where he is stationed. But Peter stops and tells the man to look at him. He does so, expecting Peter will hand over money.

Peter doesn't. He doesn't have any money. What he has is faith in Jesus that will heal the man.

In The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses, C. S. Lewis famously said:

"It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."*

We often treat God like the lame man did Peter: asking for a small thing when He wants to give us so much more. We ask for money; He offers spiritual healing that will make our hearts soar. When the man receives strong feet and ankles, he doesn't complain that he didn't receive a coin, he rises, "walking and leaping and praising God" (Acts 3:8). May we all do the same when God gives us what we need, not what we ask for.

*Lewis, C. S, and Walter Hooper. The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses. First HarperCollins edition 2001 [revised] ed. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001.

Acts 3:1–10 illustrates one of the ''wonders and signs'' the apostles performed after receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:43). The setting is completely mundane. As Jews, Peter and John go to the temple to pray and find a lame beggar they wish to help. As specially-empowered followers of Jesus, healing the man comes second nature. The act validates Peter's status as witness to Jesus (Acts 1:8), and he is ready with an explanation that ties the event to Jesus' call to repentance (Acts 3:11–26). This miracle, however, catches the attention of the Sanhedrin and starts the long road of church persecution (Acts 4).

Acts 3 is comprised of two sections: the healing of a lame man and the explanation of that healing. First, a man who has been lame his whole life approaches Peter and John to beg from them at the temple. When Peter heals him in Jesus' name, a crowd gathers around. Peter gives witness to Jesus (Acts 1:8) and tells the crowd that Jesus' authority and power healed this man. Looking back as modern readers, we see how, as the man's body symbolically ''repented,'' or turned away, from its broken form into freedom of movement, so the people can repent from their broken thoughts, actions, and beliefs, and find freedom from sin.

Acts 3 contains the second major speech of Jesus' followers. In Acts 1, Jesus ascended into heaven. In Acts 2, His followers received the Holy Spirit and gave such witness to Him that three thousand people believed in Him. Here, Peter explains that Jesus' power and authority have healed a lame man, and Jesus can heal sinful hearts, as well. This moment will bring the fledgling church to the attention of the Sanhedrin: the Jewish ruling court. There, Peter and John will set the example for all Jesus-followers. Jesus told them to be His witness (Acts 1:8); nothing a human authority can say will stop them.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.